The Scrapbook
by Caught in a Dream
Summary: The Black and Pixley families have never gotten along, what's to say relations between Aurora and Sirius will be any better? Eventual SB/OC. 2017-1970s time-jumping. Slight AU.
1. Chapter 1

**My first story in this particular section of , hope you all like it, there is some time-jumping but hopefully it all makes sense. **

**I was a bit paranoid about the switch between events in 2017 and the narrative of the Marauders' youth so everything that's happening in 2017 is going to be in italics, initially I was going to use a pattern between different sections to switch between time periods but I ended up confusing myself and then remembered that I'd have to use line breaks on here anyway. So, that was a tad annoying...**

**Anyway... not every chapter will have a switch between the two key time periods and there could be a few chapters consisting of only one or the other. **

**Reviews are always greatly appreciated and I enjoy getting constructive criticism because I just feel that it helps me progress quicker than if I just continually read over these things. However, I really appreciate you guys taking time out to read this in the first place so no pressure for reviews. **

**This will be the only disclaimer.**

**I don't own what I don't own but everything else is mine. In fact, the only things 'Harry Potter' which I have rights to is an exhausted collection of books and one sorting hat alarm clock, the condition of all of these items is questionable at best. Other than that, nada, unfortunately...**

**Oh, and Emery Night and Odette Ornithe are the property of Incandescent Aurora – I really hope I spelt that right ^_^**

**Right, I think I've bored you enough...**

The Scrapbook

Chapter 1

_Harry sighed loudly as he looked through the numerous pictures he had accumulated of his parents and their friends over the years. Throwing down a few of the pictures, Harry came to the same conclusion that he came to every other time he had looked through those photos. _

_He could know everything possible __**about **__his parents, but it would never be the same as actually __**knowing **__them._

_The creak of the door suddenly caught his attention and he turned just in time to see his wife walking in. "Lily's driving me mad talking about- what's wrong?"_

"_I was just... thinking."_

_Ginny put her hands on her hips. "You were looking at pictures again." It was perfectly obvious what he had been from the hundreds of pictures scattered across the floor. _

"_I wish I could have known them better, you know?" With a small sigh of her own, Ginny moved to kneel beside Harry, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Lily was asking me about them earlier and I... I had nothing real to tell her." Even after the numerable years they had known one another, Ginny never knew quite how to help him, what to say, when he went into one of those moods. _

"_Maybe you should take a break... there's a parcel for you in the kitchen." Harry nodded and stood up, giving Ginny a quick kiss before wandering out of the room. _

_Ginny frowned as she looked at all the pictures left lying on the floor before rolling her eyes and setting about putting them back in their boxes. _

_She had meant for him to tidy up first. _

_As Harry entered the kitchen, he saw the package waiting for him in the centre of the table, a letter carefully set atop it. On closer inspection he realised that he knew the handwriting well. "Professor McGonagall," he said to himself before settling himself into the seat and tearing open the letter. _

'_Potter,_

_I was asked to send you this by the Pixley family, they heard of your more recent enquiries about your parents' lives at Hogwarts and thought that this might help._

_The creator of this book was a Gryffindor, she shared a dorm with your mother and they were very good friends throughout their time at Hogwarts. Among other things, she was also a good friend of your father's and a valued member of the Order, her name was Aurora Pixley._

_Should you decide to look through this book I recommend that you do so in order so that you can better follow their story, but what you do with it now is your choice, all I ask is that you take good care of it and preserve her memory. _

_If you have any questions then feel free to ask. _

_Minerva McGonagall'_

_Smiling to himself, Harry gently moved the plain packaging away from the book then ran a hand over the smooth leather binding. It was a vivid, Gryffindor red with a gold pattern trailing over the spine, the sheer size of the book only served to widen Harry's grin. Carefully, he opened the first page. "Mum," he whispered, running a fingertip over the picture before checking the note beside it. _

'_Lily and I (with a small – ... no comment – cameo from Severus) in a muggle photo booth at Kings Cross Station._

_01/09/1971_

_EDIT 19/1/1975 – muggle contraptions are wildly unpredictable and shouldn't ever be trusted'_

_He laughed upon seeing Severus Snape's nose poking into the edge of the shot whilst his mum was stood pointing at the camera, clearly trying to explain things to the confused looking young girl beside her. _

_Immediately underneath was a wizard picture, taken in an abandoned carriage on the Hogwarts Express, the girl – whom Harry now assumed to be Aurora – was stood grinning with her arm about Lily's shoulders. In the background a completely unenthused Severus could be seen staring out of the window. _

'_On the Hogwarts Express, tried to get Severus to smile, failed miserably...'_

_Harry watched for a few moments as the two girls moved to fix the robes that they had changed into since their last photo and tried in vain to get Severus to join in. _

_So that was his mum on her first day at Hogwarts. _

_

* * *

_

"Wand?" Selene Pixley said as she followed her daughter through Kings Cross Station. The young girl rolled her eyes as she was tailed by her parents through the bustling crowd of busy muggles.

"Yes," the girl replied absentmindedly, racing forwards then jumping on the back of the small trolley she was pushing her bags around on.

"Robes?" Selene asked once she had caught up with her eldest child.

"Yes."

"Underwear?"

"Mum," she whined, turning suddenly.

"Aurora," her mother responded, mimicking the tone.

"Don't worry Selene, I helped Aurora pack her trunk myself," Aurora's father, Antonius, interjected.

"I know, that's what worries me," responded Selene without missing a beat. Aurora and Antonius merely grinned at one another. "Are you sure you packed everything?" she asked, turning to face her husband.

"Of course I am! Do you so doubt your husband's packing skills?"

"Yes, and with good reason."

"I'll have you know we followed your list to the letter, I even added a few necessities that you had missed."

"But... fine, okay," Selene sighed in defeat, looking back to her daughter. "Make sure you're nice and polite to everyone-"

"Except the Malfoys," Antonius interrupted.

"Antonius!" yelled Selene, even though she had been thinking something similar.

"And the Carrows," he added. "And the Dolohovs, the Rookwoods, the Rosiers, the Lestranges and, for the love of Merlin, stay well away from the Black family." The family attracted the odd looks of several muggles as they continued towards Platform 9¾.

"Antonius..." Selene made a half-hearted attempt to stop her husband.

"You know what," he concluded, "just avoid Slytherin altogether." Aurora nodded – even though she hadn't actually been paying any attention – she knew well enough which families she wasn't to consort with.

"What's that?" Aurora asked suddenly, pointing towards a large cuboid looking thing which was set against one of the pillars that ran along the platforms. Her parents both looked where she was pointing.

"That's a photo-booth," responded her mother eventually.

"It takes pictures?"

"Yes, you put in some money and it takes your picture."

"Cool!" Aurora yelled, pushing her trolley towards her parents. "Can you meet me on the Platform? I'm gonna get a muggle picture taken."

"How long until she comes to us asking for muggle money?" Antonius wondered aloud as he and Selene moved on to Platform 9¾.

"I'll give her five minutes, at best."

* * *

Lily Evans walked around Kings Cross Station with her parents and her school supplies in tow, she was supposed to be meeting Severus but for some reason he hadn't turned up. "Dear?" Hearing her mum speaking to her, Lily turned to face her parents. "Do you know where we're supposed to be going?"

"The letter said platform nine and three quarters but I don't know where that is- oh! Maybe they know!" She pointed in the direction of a wizarding family; at least, they looked like a wizarding family.

"Should we go and ask then?" Mr Evans suggested, jumping in surprise when the child ran away from her parents towards a photo booth and the parents disappeared through the wall between platforms nine and ten. "Or should we just follow them?"

"But what if you need to use..." Mrs Evans trailed off, leaning towards her husband and daughter and lowering her tone. "_Magic_... to get through."

"Lily, why don't you go and ask that girl if she can show us how to get through, you mum and I will stay here." Lily nodded dutifully before walking over to the photo-booth, she was slightly nervous; Severus was the only wizard she had really spoken to before.

"Um... excuse me?" she said shyly, peeking through the curtain. Inside she saw a girl, only an inch or two shorted than herself, glaring at the machine, her brown eyes narrowed into slits as she cursed under her breath. "Excuse me?" Lily repeated herself, slightly louder this time.

"Hm? Oh! Hi." The girl smiled brightly at Lily before knocking a lock of her long, dark chestnut-coloured hair from her shoulder.

"Um... were those your parents that you were just talking to?"

"Yeah, why? Are they back for me already? It hasn't been five minutes." Lily watched the girl's brow furrow in confusion.

"No, no... It's just; I was wondering if you knew how to get to platform nine and three quarters?"

"Of course I- ah, you're muggle born." A look of bemusement crossed Lily's features, she had heard Severus using the term before but he had never really explained what it meant. "Your parents aren't wizards," the girl clarified.

"Oh, no, no they're not."

A silence hung between the two as the shorter girl looked Lily up and down and, after a few seconds, she grinned. "Cool! I've never met a muggle-born before!" She grasped Lily's hand and shook it enthusiastically, her smile, even though it seemed impossible, growing wider. "I'm Aurora Pixley."

"Lily Evans," Lily offered, with a far smaller, much less certain smile.

"Do you know how to work this thingy then?" Realising what was being asked, Lily nodded. "Awesome! I'll make you a deal... you help me get a picture out of here and I'll show you to platform nine and three quarters."

"Uh... alright..." Lily stepped inside the photo-booth. "You need two pounds first."

"I only have galleons." She dug two of the gold pieces out of her pocket. "I'll switch you."

Lily smiled sweetly; at least, she hoped it was a sweet smile. "Actually, a galleon's worth about five pounds... we had to ask one of the things in the bank-"

"The goblins at Gringotts-"

"About it... yeah, it's worth five pounds."

"Oh... take one then."

"I'll pay you back later."

"It doesn't matter." Aurora waved her hand dismissively. "Just show me how this works." Once more Lily smiled and then put her own money into the machine, adeptly setting everything up for Aurora.

"Now all you need to do is sit down and-"

"Lily, I've been looking everywhere for you." The four quick flashes caught the occupants of the photo booth completely off guard, as did the sudden arrival of a boy their own age.

Aurora watched as Lily's smile brightened. "Oh, hi Severus."

* * *

Sitting amongst some other first years, Aurora admired her half of the photos that she and Lily had decided to share upon the former's departure; it seemed that after Severus' arrival there wasn't much need for her anymore.

Looking around the people in her compartment, Aurora smiled at anyone who made eye contact but never tried anything more. In truth, she was bored. They were all half-bloods and muggle-borns and while that wasn't necessarily an issue, they had spent the entire trip discussing various aspects of the muggle world and that was something Aurora simply couldn't relate to.

Aurora stood slowly and excused herself from the compartment, choosing instead to stand in the aisle and watch the world go by. Turning suddenly she slammed into someone. "Sorry," she muttered, looking up to try and find out who she had walked into. "Emery Night? You're going to Hogwarts."

"No, I'm just popping in for a visit." Aurora gave him a small smile and they both turned to face the window.

"You haven't changed," she stated, too fondly in public for Emery's liking.

"You haven't grown." The smile slipped from Aurora's lips and she shot him a mock glare which quickly deadened into a small frown; his personality hadn't changed but his looks certainly had. He had already grown to stand a good half a foot taller than her, when a year before there had been little more than two inches between them.

"I thought you were headed for Durmstrang."

"My father wanted it that way." Through the corner of her eye, Aurora saw Emery's eyes flash at the mention of his father, the normal icy blue diluting to near translucency. After a short while he added, "We visited during the summer, my mother didn't like it." Aurora nodded but didn't pursue the matter any further.

"Since when have you voluntarily spoken to me in public?" she asked after a while with a grin. "Have I finally worn you down?"

"You wish Pixley." He turned his head sharply away from her, his jet black hair being tossed to the side in its low ponytail as he did so. "The only reason I'm speaking to you is for lack of better offers and if-"

"If anyone asks then our parents _made_ us speak," she finished for him, in a perfect imitation of his haughty tone which had taken years to perfect. His glare was soon diffused by her bright smile and the challenge that made her brown eyes dance.

"I-"

"STOP IT!" Hearing the newly familiar voice, Aurora leapt nimbly past Emery – who made to follow soon after – and sprinted to find the source. Within a matter of seconds they found Lily trying to pull Severus away from two other boys, only one of whom Aurora recognised.

"Is that Black?" She glanced up to Emery for a moment and caught his slight nod. The three boys all dove forwards and Aurora made to jump in and stop them.

"You shouldn't get involved," Emery warned her, certain that no one could hear him over the ruckus. He was completely unsurprised when Aurora ignored him and charged into the middle of it all anyway.

"What's going on?" she interrupted, but it didn't look like anyone was listening to her.

"You slimy git!" the shorter of the two boys spat, "I suppose you'd rather be a Slytherin then?"

Severus went to respond but Lily quickly interjected, clearly more worried about Severus' bust lip than he was, "What does it even matter? None of us have even been sorted into our houses yet."

"My dad was a Gryffindor!" the one Aurora didn't recognise spoke again, his chest puffing up slightly.

"Figures," Severus retorted and the two other boys lunged forwards once more. One of the many punches being thrown nearly sending Aurora flying. Now both Lily and Aurora stepped between them.

"Is this what you're all fighting about? Because you insulted Gryffindor?" Aurora asked, slightly confused by the situation.

"He said they were brainless," Sirius, the one that Aurora knew – but who didn't seem to have a clue who she was – piped up, pointing an accusatory finger at Severus.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it that way." Lily looked to her friend for confirmation but he offered none. "You shouldn't have tried to hit him anyway, regardless of what he said."

"Especially two on one," Aurora added, sending a withering glare at the boys that more than made up for her lack of height. "Although what could really be expected from a member of the Black family," she muttered, not quite quietly enough.

"What did you say?" he hissed at her.

For a moment she looked taken aback. "You heard me..." she said uncertainly before her resolve strengthened, "your family are all the same..."

"You don't know _anything _about me," he seethed. "I'm _nothing_ like them!"

"This certainly seems like something they'd do," Aurora responded quickly, "fighting someone two on one."

"This isn't even any of your business," poison laced his tone. "You weren't even here!"

"You hit one of my friends," she lied, ignoring the look that Severus shot her, "that makes it my business." Turning on her heel, Aurora looked to Lily and Severus. "Come on, let's get you sorted out." It took Lily and Aurora's combined strength to drag him away from the scene but there was just no stopping the deadly glare he shot at the other boys.

* * *

Odette Ornithe wandered through the Hogwarts Express, dodging neatly through the bustle even with the hindrance of her long skirt. Finding an apparently deserted compartment, she slipped inside, slightly shocked when she saw that it did indeed have an occupant.

Maintaining her composure, she took a seat on the opposite side of the compartment and flipped her book – a muggle romance novel – open to the correct page. She soon lost herself to the story.

"WAIT UP!" After the long silence, the sudden yell caught both Emery and Aurora off guard and they looked up just in time to see Aurora rushing after the food trolley, barging past people almost twice her size as she went. Quickly turning her attention to Emery, Odette saw his lips twitch and cocked her head to the side. "How-" she began, then thought the better of it when he looked at her, it was as though he hadn't even noticed that she had been there in the first place.

It wouldn't have surprised her if that had been the case.

"Our families know one another," he explained briefly, answering Odette's mostly silent question, before turning back to the window. Odette thought to ask for a further explanation then checked herself; the boy on the opposite side of the carriage didn't seem the type to want to be disturbed. "Our parents force us to act like we get along," he added as an afterthought and, although Odette didn't entirely believe him, she nodded firmly in response.

"Those boys before... do you know them?" Lily asked the second Aurora had staggered into the compartment, with her arms full of various treats and snacks.

"Only the taller one, Sirius Black, his family and mine haven't gotten along for generations."

"Why?"

"Um... my family are much more liberal; we're purebloods more through chance than design," she answered vaguely before throwing the sweets onto one of the empty seats and grabbing her wand from her robes' pocket. "I can fix that for you." Aurora gestured towards Severus' lip.

"I'd rather not spend my first day at Hogwarts mangled in the hospital wing."

"It's only a simple healing spell," she justified before giving her wand a quick swish. "Episkey." In a matter of seconds, Severus' lip was healed up, as though there had never been a cut there in the first place.

"How did you do that?" Lily asked, her green eyes lit up with some slight awe.

"Well I saw my dad do it during the holidays and I asked him to show me, so he gave me a quick lesson. It took me a while to get it right though."

"That's illegal," Severus snapped, looking to Lily for back up, he had made her aware of the laws of the wizarding world a long while ago.

"It's not as if I was hexing someone," Aurora defended herself, frowning at Severus' behaviour.

Sensing the tension between the two, Lily quickly jumped in, "Didn't you say something about another picture on the way here?"

"Oh yeah," Aurora said with a smile, fishing through her bag – which she'd picked up on their way to the carriage – she pulled out her wizard camera. "Are you in the picture with us?" she asked Severus, smiling at him as though the prior conversation had never taken place.

"No," he said tartly, ignoring the look that Lily shot him.

Aurora shrugged, smiling at Lily. "Just us then."


	2. Chapter 2

**I tried to write a sorting hat song and failed miserably, but don't I get points for trying?**

The Scrapbook  
Chapter 2

'_Now, there seems to be some confusion  
__So let's get one thing straight  
__My job is not of great import  
__It holds no _real _weight_

_But only once will I tell you  
__To which house you belong  
__By picking out the virtues  
__Which divide you from the throng_

_In Slytherin you'll find only those  
__Whose blood is mostly pure  
__Those of true ambition  
__Whose great cunning is sure_

_And those in possession of  
__A truly ravenous mind  
__In the house of Ravenclaw  
__Will soon meet with their kind_

_To the house of Hufflepuff  
__Hard workers will be admitted  
__Students who are kind of heart  
__Who are tolerant and committed_

_And finally now there's Gryffindor  
__Where daring deeds are done  
__A place that values nerve and daring  
__Where great adventures are begun_

_And although it seems important  
__To hear which name I state  
__It is not the only factor  
__In what will decide your fate_

_Despite what you're all thinking now  
__You should really have no fears  
__For surely it is your decisions  
__Which shall echo through the years_

_So you see, I have a simple task  
__Yet I'm the only one  
__Capable of fulfilling it  
__So now, let's get it done' _

"That's the Sorting Hat," Aurora informed Lily as the first years all shuffled uncertainly in their huddled mass at the front of the Great Hall, watching in a state of pure terror as the unlucky first few were goaded towards the stool at the front. "It-"

"It looks inside you head and tells you which house you belong in," Severus interrupted.

Lily nodded thoughtfully. "Do you know which house you both want to be in?"

In response, Aurora shrugged. "I don't particularly mind... shouldn't imagine that my dad would want me in Slytherin though?"

"Why not?" Severus shot the question at her indignantly.

"Too many people there that my family don't want me to consort with." For a moment, both Severus and Lily considered pursuing the matter further.

"Black, Sirius." The call for the first of the new students caught everyone's attention and they all watched in relative silence as the boy in question strode forward. Glancing over at the Slytherin table, Aurora caught sight of Sirius' sister, Narcissa, and watched as she exchanged a worried glance with some of the others sat around her. Thoroughly stumped, Aurora looked back to Sirius.

'_Why is it taking so long? Surely he's a-"_

"GRYFFINDOR!" After a few moments of stunned silence, the Gryffindor table exploded in cheers and Sirius marched towards them, obviously avoiding the horrified gazes of those at the Slytherin table.

'_Walburga won't be happy... wouldn't surprise me if he gets a howler.' _Aurora couldn't help but chuckle to herself at the thought.

From that point on, it was near mechanic, students were coaxed expertly forward onto the seat before being sent away to their new table mere moments later. "Blaretow, Darius."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Boblitt, Dane."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Catchlove, Greta."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Erskint, Patrick."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Evans, Lily." Both Aurora and Severus nodded encouragingly at their friend as she shuffled towards the Sorting Hat, watching with bated breath as Lily placed it atop her head. Aurora cast a quick glance towards Severus, he seemed more nervous about the entire affair than Lily was, wringing his hands and continually muttering beneath his breath.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat roared, only to be followed immediately by the howling and yelling of the Gryffindor students.

"You look disappointed," Aurora commented, her gaze darting momentarily back to Severus once more.

"What do you mean by that?" he snapped instantly.

"Just what I said, you look disappointed." For a moment Severus looked down, his brow furrowed in thought. "You wanted her to be in the same house as-"

"Why do you even care?" he hissed. "You don't even know Lily, you just turned up today out of nowhere and you assume that you're now the best of friends."

"I'm not trying to push you out if that's what you're thinking, I want to be friends with both of you." She proffered a gentle smile, one which wasn't returned.

"Freedman, Joseph."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Jackson, Anita."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Keefen, Julia."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Loftin, Lavenia."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Lupin, Remus."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"McCoyle, Bridget."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Milladoon, Karen."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Night, Emery." Hearing her friend's name, Aurora's head snapped up just in time to see him stride towards the Sorting Hat, to those around him, she was certain he seemed calm, but she knew better than that.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, the crowd of students started getting restless, maybe something was wrong, even with the trickiest of students the Sorting Hat didn't normally take that long.

"SLYTHERIN!" Looking thoroughly relieved, Emery strolled nonchalantly towards the Slytherin table, nodding curtly to those who congratulated him and providing the vaguest possible answers to those who asked after his parents.

"Ornithe, Odette!" the witch at the front of the hall shouted, trying to get herself heard over the excessive noise in the Great Hall, she waited until they had all fallen silent once more then motioned for the slim girl to come forwards.

Odette did as she was told, her knee-length, near-black hair protecting her from the scrutiny of her soon to be peers and her pure blue eyes trained solely on the Sorting Hat as she moved with a practised ease to the front of the hall. _'Please, please Gryffindor,' _she pleaded inwardly as the hat was placed atop her head.

A few moments later, the Sorting Hat's shout sounded over the chattering of some of the students. "GRYFFINDOR!"

"Pettigrew, Peter."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Pixley, Aurora." Hearing her name, Aurora patted Severus companionably on the shoulder and then proceeded to make her way towards the hat. She dared a glance down at the Slytherin table and, seeing they were smirking at her, sighed heavily.

Despite the innumerable questions Aurora had asked her parents about that moment, she was still completely unprepared when the unfamiliar voice sounded inside her head. _'A Pixley, eh? Been a while since I last saw one of you.'_

'_You'll see more of us soon.'_

'_Oh joy...'_

'_A sarcastic hat, how refreshing...' _A low chuckle echoed inside her mind.

'_Shall we get you sorte-"_

'_I don't want to be in Slytherin.'_

'_Not that it's your decision, but I wouldn't have put you there anyway... you're pureblooded enough but no, you're just too forthright for them... I wouldn't recommend Ravenclaw either.' _Aurora's eyes narrowed slightly before she shrugged her shoulders. _'Ah... your father's good heart would see you well in Hufflepuff...'_

'_Done then.'_

'_Now, now, be patient... this is an important decision-'_

'_But you said in your song-'_

'_Do you honestly think that it isn't important? Your house determines who you spend time with, the contacts you make. Each house will wean out of you the qualities it most values and, despite what you all seem to think, your house _will _affect the person you become.'_

For a short while there was a silence between them.

'_And you can get thoughts of cutting me up out of your head right now; your mother already tried it when I said something similar to her.'_

'_Sorry...' _The look on Aurora's face was nothing less than absolute bemusement – she was being scolded by a hat...

'_Your family were always difficult to place... Hm... yes, yes I think I know...' _Another silence descended upon them. "GRYFFINDOR!" Aurora let out a breath that she didn't even know she had been holding in and then grinned at the cheering students of Gryffindor house. As she hopped down the small steps, she glanced backwards at the hat.

"Potter, James."

"GRYFFINDOR!" Both Aurora and Lily scowled slightly as James rushed whooping down to the table to sit beside Sirius, the two positively beaming at one another.

"Provence, Liza."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Quays, Stuart."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Rainbolt, Allyson."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Ripka, Armand."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Rosier, Evan."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Seutter, Ken."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Shuman, Antony."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Snape, Severus." As he walked forwards, Severus looked over at the Gryffindor table, his glare lingering over Sirius and James before he zeroed in on Aurora and Lily sat beside one another, at which point his look fell into one of total betrayal.

"SLYTHERIN!" With one last look at the new Gryffindors, Severus made his way over to his new house table.

"Smith, Adrian."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Stebbins, Wilbur."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Steele, Rosalinda."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Stetler, Frederick."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Talkalot, Lucinda."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Watkins, Robert."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Weinshock, Carlene."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Wilkes, Faustus."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Wiren, Hillary."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Witt, Alana."

"RAVENCLAW!"

As the final first-year took her place at the Ravenclaw table, Aurora turned her attention back to the Sorting Hat, thinking over what it had said to her.

Was the house it placed you in _really_ so important?


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm really sorry that this story is starting off so slowly but I tried it initially just jumping straight into the later years at Hogwarts and it just didn't flow well at all, but this shouldn't go on for much longer, I'm just trying to introduce the new characters and their relationships with one another and the canon characters. **

**Jokegirl and blusnwbunni, thanks so much for your reviews, it made my day to read them!**

The Scrapbook  
Chapter 3

"_Harry, let Jasper in," Ginny yawned, waking up her husband with a sharp nudge in the side before turning over and falling swiftly back to sleep herself. Without protest, Harry slid from the bed and caught the owl as it hopped through the newly opened window, aiming straight for the letter in his beak. _

"_Good lad," he whispered, giving Jasper a quick rub between the eyes before placing him gently in the cage on the opposite side of the room, throwing in a handful of treats for good measure. _

_Creeping into the spare room, he carefully opened the letter from his eldest son, careful not to drop the scraps of parchment that had been added in; James had seemed more than happy to have a special mission given to him by his father and it seemed that, in true Potter fashion, he had already broken a rule or two to fulfil it. _

'_Spoke to most of the Professors but they don't seem to know much, the ones that knew her didn't give me much information either.'_

_Harry scowled, he had had quite a bit of trouble finding information on Aurora, even at the Ministry there wasn't much to go on, just the usual generic drivel about her date of birth and make of wand. _

_Still scowling, he moved onto the next piece of paper, smiling slightly when he realised that his son had been taking notes as he'd gone along. His frown deepened; there was nothing in there that Professor McGonagall hadn't already told him. _

_Exasperated, Harry threw himself down into the nearest chair and sighed heavily. Grabbing the scrapbook off the side, Harry flipped to the page he had reached last time; he was still looking through Aurora's first year and in the picture she and her potions partner were stood beside a bubbling cauldron. _

'_Me and Peter Pettigrew – sweet but a bit weird – in our first potions lesson  
__03/09/1971_

_EDIT 22/01/1971 – finally beat Lily and Severus in our practical exam... it had absolutely nothing to do with the draughts of forgetfulness potion that we stole from Severus' practice batch and slipped into their pumpkin juice this morning'_

_Harry could no longer feel angry with Peter – there seemed no point anymore – and he even found himself smiling at the pudgy young boy who blushed when Aurora put her arm around him._

_

* * *

_"What's first?" asked Aurora as she marched out of the Great Hall, brushing past other students without a care.

"Didn't you memorise your timetable?" Lily retorted.

"Lily, you're the _only _person that memorised their timetable before lessons even started."

The following huff of indignation might have worried Aurora, had she not caught sight of the small smile that accompanied it. "Potions... we have potions."

"Joy..." Rolling her eyes, Aurora took a sharp turn out of the hall and headed towards the dungeons. "This way then."

"How do you know where the dungeons are?"

"I don't," Aurora pointed to the rest of their class – the other first year Gryffindors and Slytherins – shuffling along behind an older student. "But I'm guessing it's somewhere in that direction."

Rushing to keep up with everyone, the two girls were soon ducking into the classroom and joining in with the mad flurry to find a potions partner and a seat. It wasn't long before the two girls found Severus at the front, an empty seat beside him. Lily turned to Aurora. "Would you mind if I went with Severus?"

Aurora shook her head, "Nah." As Lily took her new seat, Aurora turned away and cursed lowly, now _she_ needed to find a partner.

The Slytherins were pretty much out from the very beginning...

Maybe Emery though? No, he'd never consent to it.

Lavenia and Julia were already sat together, so that just left the boys...

Sirius? Ha! Definitely not, her father would send her a howler if he found out she was voluntarily working with the Black family's precious heir.

So it was between James, Remus and Peter...

Aurora barged her way to the back of the class, knocking a couple of Slytherin girls flying in the process before stopping short, Remus and James had already paired up. "Hey Pete," she greeted him cheerfully, offering her brightest smile.

He smiled uncertainly back, "Um... hi."

"You don't have a partner yet, right?" She was now very aware that Sirius, James and Remus were all watching her curiously.

"No, I-"

"Want to be my partner?"

"Oh, you don't want me as your partner, I'm-"

"Of course I do!" she protested, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the cauldron in the middle of the back row, situated between James and Remus's desk and that of Sirius and the Slytherin girl he'd been snapped up by, Carlene Weinshock, a surprisingly pleasant blonde that Aurora had seen at a few of her dinner parties. "You wanted to stay with your friends right?"

Purposefully, Aurora sat herself in-between Peter and Carlene, smiling when the blonde leaned closer. "Not seen you in a while," Carlene commented.

"I know," Aurora carried on the inane chat, "it's been four months hasn't it? Since we visited your house in Bavaria?"

"That's right... I thought you would have been sat with one of the Gryffindor girls."

"Nah... Lavenia and Julia wanted to go together, and Lily's with Severus at the front."

"Slimy git," came a mutter from James on the other side of Peter, prompting a contemptuous roll of the eyes from Aurora.

"What about that other one?"

"Other one- Odette!" Aurora almost slammed her head down on the desk, she had completely forgotten about Odette!

Seeing Peter wince out of the corner of her eye, Aurora slipped her arm about his shoulders. "And miss out on being paired up with Petey here, not on your life!" She smiled and winked at him before turning her attention back to Carlene, ignoring Sirius' small scoff.

"Ah! Emery Night, how are your parents my boy?" Professor Slughorn's voice boomed across the classroom and everyone else went silent, turning to look at Emery and his partner – who, much to Aurora's astonishment, was Odette – on the middle row.

"Very well, thank you sir." Emery could hear Aurora snickering in the row behind and turned to glare at her over his shoulder the second Slughorn look away.

"Good to hear it."

"Ah!" yelped Aurora as a rolled up bit of parchment appeared out of nowhere and hit her dead between the eyes. "Are you alright dear?" Slughorn asked, rushing over.

Out of the corner of her eye, Aurora saw Emery barely trying to contain his laughter and through gritted teeth grumbled, "Fine Professor."

Slughorn quickly checked through his list of students then smiled brightly at Aurora. "And how are your parents Miss Pixley?"

"They're pretty good sir."

"Yes... I heard that they had one of their parties during the summer, I was quite surprised not to get an invitation myself."

"It was only a small dinner party sir, just family really."

"Ah, of course, of course... completely understandable." There was silence for a moment. "And how is your grandmother Chrysanthe I mean."

Aurora frowned at the odd question. "She's fine; she and my granddad went to France for a month yesterday."

"Lovely," Slughorn remarked, in the least sincere voice he could possibly have mustered. "Euripides is still alive then?"

"Yes," she said uncertainly, her frown deepening when she thought she heard the Professor mutter 'pity' under his breath.

"I remember Chrysanthe well you know... a very pretty young lady she was, you look quite like her you know-"

Despite visibly shuddering, Aurora cut in, "A few people have said that sir-"

"And she was amazingly bright, even for a Ravenclaw..." He chuckled, "We went on a few dates, she and I, during our fifth year..."

As the Professor continued to openly fantasise about her grandmother, Aurora turned a rather fetching shade of pale green, fortunately, Lily came to her rescue. "Professor? Which potion are we making today?"

"Ah, such enthusiasm is very good to see Miss Evans." Lily beamed at the compliment and, had she not just been rescued by the girl from certain mortification, Aurora would have chucked the ball of parchment at her.

"Suck up," Aurora whispered beneath her breath, even though she was smiling.

"Today," Slughorn began grandly as he waddled his way up to the front, "we'll begin by working on the Boil-Cure potion, a very simple one to start, but whichever pair produces the best potion will be excused from all potions homework this week." He came to a halt behind his desk, grabbed the hourglass on the corner and flipped it over. "You have an hour... begin."

After a few moments spent locating the instructions, half the class – Aurora included – sped to the cupboard in a sudden dash of movement, leaving their parents to make a start on heating the potion primer.

Within a matter of minutes, Aurora had returned with the flobberworm mucus, nettles and crushed snake fangs, thrusting them into Peter's arms before running back to the store cupboard for porcupine quills and horned slugs, she and Sirius trying to barge one another out of the way as they went.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Peter asked as he trotted along beside Aurora and Lily, the latter glaring at him menacingly.

"Yeah fine," Aurora answered simply, glancing down quickly at her newly bandaged arm, she and Peter had learned the hard way that, when preparing a boil-cure potion, you should stop heating the cauldron as you add the porcupine quills, especially if you're going to spill it on yourself while trying to fix things.

"Do you want me to carry your books?" Remus asked kindly, suddenly appearing beside them while Sirius and James could be heard laughing raucously a few feet behind them.

"I'm really sorry Aurora," Peter apologised for the fifth time during their short walk from Potions to Charms.

"No worries Pete, it was- Lily, stop glaring at him, it was an accident." As they arrived at their next classroom, Aurora turned to Lily. "Besides, if this hadn't happened," she held up her bandaged right arm, "_you _would have done the same thing, and then you and Severus wouldn't have won." She added, "You're welcome by the way," with a grin before strolling into the classroom.

* * *

'_Me and Professor Flitwick – love this guy! He makes me feel tall!  
__03/09/1971'_

_Harry smiled until he saw that the Aurora in the picture had a bandage about her arm, then his frown set in once more._

_For a moment, Harry puzzled over his situation; finally, he came to the conclusion to just go over what he already knew. _

_Aurora was in Gryffindor._

_She was a pureblood. _

_She was in the same year as his parents. _

_Her birthday was April 1__st__._

_Her wand was 9¼ long, made of rosewood with a chimaera scale core._

_She was a member of the..._

_Wait... _

_His mind flew back to the first letter from Professor McGonagall... she was a valued member of the Order of the Phoenix, so..._

"_Hagrid would have known her," Harry muttered to himself before grabbing a piece of parchment and a muggle pen – which Arthur had recently sent them – from the side and quickly writing down a message to his old friend. _

* * *

"_Harry!" Hagrid greeted his friend cheerfully, ushering him into his hut with a wide smile and a bone-crushing hug. The groundskeeper had noticeable aged since Harry's time at Hogwarts, the creases around his eyes had become much deeper set and his bushy beard and wild mane were now more grey than brown. "Good ter see yeh!"_

"_You to Hagrid," Harry replied, settling himself on one of the large armchairs that had been around since Harry's first year and nodding when a cup of tea was offered. _

"_So... yer letter said yeh needed ter talk ter me about someone," Hagrid started as he sat with a groan in his own chair. _

"_Yeah..." Harry gave his wand a quick flick and the book appeared on Hagrid's table, he opened it quickly to the first page. "Professor McGonagall told me she was in the Order when she left Hogwarts," he explained, pointing to the first picture of Aurora in the photo-booth with his mother. "Did you know her?"_

_A small choked sound was emitted from Hagrid and Harry looked up in time to see the half-giant wiping a tear from his eyes. "Yeah," he said in a slightly shaky voice, "I knew her. She always got 'er detentions wi' me somehow... an' even when she stopped gettin' 'em tha' often, she used ter come down an' see me from time ter time..."_

* * *

"Another one 'Rora?" asked Hagrid in his normal gruff tone, his brow furrowed in mild disbelief, they were only four months into Aurora's second year and already Hagrid had seen her twenty-three times. Those boys – the Marauders they had started calling themselves – and Aurora between them had more or less wiped out Gryffindor's house points. Hagrid sighed, "What was it this time?"

"The foul old goat," she spat, knowing that Hagrid would understand that she was referring to Professor Binns, "got me for sleeping in class again."

"Well yeh can' really blame him fer tha'," reasoned Hagrid, as best he could, "you should listen ter yer teachers, yer not gonna ge' good grades otherwise."

"But _everyone_ else falls asleep in his classes! And he never gives _them _detention!" She folded her arms across her chest, pouting childishly. "He just hates me."

Hagrid couldn't in all honesty disagree with her there, although 'hate' was perhaps too strong a word, it was more of a passionate dislike. "Well, yeh did join in tha' Ghoul Studies class jus' ter see if there were any ways to ge' rid o' him..."

A wicked grin spread across Aurora's features, she had shown a particular talent for Ghoul Studies and had been urged to consider a career with the Spirit Division at the Ministry of Magic, but – after finding out that there was no way to get rid of Professor Binns – she had promptly made her excuses and left the class at the beginning of their second term.

Rolling his eyes, Hagrid turned on his heel and lumbered away towards the cabbage patch. "Flesh eating slugs again?"

Hagrid nodded, "Professor Dumbledore put on a charm fer me, ter keep 'em off fer tonight while we pu' down the repellent." He handed her one of the large green jugs then gestured to the cabbage patch. "Yeh know wha' ter do."


	4. Chapter 4

**RuuunItsJasmine and Admiral von Cha-Cha, thank you so much for reviewing! **

**Sorry this took so long, and this chapter's a bit slow, but I can't really stall updating much longer, I got a bit stuck trying to go through the first few years without speeding it up too much or dragging it out too long, not so sure how that's gone but...**

The Scrapbook  
Chapter 4

'_Potter,_

_I recently contacted a woman who was then named Odette Ornithe. You might have already seen her in the book; she and her husband were friends of Aurora and your mother as well as members of the Order._

_During the second wizarding war, they were in Romania, working to convince the vampire leader that he shouldn't join forces with Voldemort and helping to fight any death eaters who sought to persuade the vampires otherwise, as you must be aware, they succeeded. _

_She said that she would be willing to answer as many questions about Aurora and your mother as possible, and that you should feel free to contact her._

_Minerva McGonagall'_

_Hearing approaching footsteps, Harry looked up from the letter and stood to greet his visitor. "Thanks for agreeing to meet with me," Harry said sincerely to the woman who had come to a halt opposite him. _

"_Anything for Lily and James' son," replied Odette. In her late fifties, she was still young for a witch, her incredibly long hair tainted with relatively few white strands. Still, there were some wrinkles about her eyes and mouth, the unavoidable result of years of laughter, the survival of two wizarding wars and the loss of oh so many loved ones. "Do you have Aurora's book with you?"_

_Nodding, Harry conjured the book and presented it to Odette, who studied it reverently. "You know," she began with a sad smile, "she was always taking pictures... at the time we all found it annoying, we couldn't really see the point, but now..." she trailed off, "I'm sure you know better than anyone how important pictures are."_

_Harry nodded again and they slipped into silence for a short while. "I was hoping you'd be able to tell me more about their background," he piped up eventually. _

"_I'll try my best." He opened it at his first bookmarked page and pointed to the picture of five girls stood together. _

"_Which girl is which?" Harry pointed to the two girls on the end. For a moment, he watched as Odette smiled at the sight of her younger self. _

"_Her name," she pointed to a tall girl with blonde curly hair, "was Julia Keefen, lovely girl, sharp as any Ravenclaw but cripplingly shy... and she," she moved her finger to hover over an exotic looking girl with obsidian hair and, what would later become, regal features, "was called Lavenia Loftin, again, nice girl, bit of a gossip monger at her worst."_

"_Were you all close?"_

* * *

Julia stumbled forwards as a large group of first-years bustled past her, either completely unaware of her presence of simply choosing to ignore it, from experience the latter seemed more likely. "Keefen!" Hunching over, Julia tried to discount the, unfortunately, familiar voices. "Oi! Keefen!"

'_Okay Julia, for once in your life, be brave.' _With a slow, shaky breath, she turned to face them and watched, frozen, as the Ravenclaws and Slytherins marched menacingly towards her, the boy at the front – a Ravenclaw in the same year by the name of Ken Seutter – seemed to be the only one with his wand in-hand.

Instinctively, Julia clutched her charms books closer to her chest, hoping that they could provide her some small protection from the oncoming attack that, even halfway through her second year, was still a daily occurrence.

Ken raised his wand, about to hang Julia upside down from one of the light fixtures, when a shout boomed from further down the corridor. "FURNUNCULUS!" Julia watched in mild astonishment as Aurora came storming down the corridor, her dark eyes with rage and her wand still pointed at Ken as the painful boils erupted from his flesh.

"What the hell Pixley?" one of the others, a Slytherin in the year above, yelled. He raised his own wand, "FLIPENDO!" Aurora was sent flying backwards and the Slytherin boy seemed set on following her, until he was hit with one of Aurora's knee-reversal hexes and was consequently sent sprawling to the floor.

Seeing that Julia was still rooted to the spot with fear and that Aurora was still on the floor, the three remaining bullies closed in on their usual target. "Back off!" The new voice caught them all unawares and they turned just in time to see Lily running towards them, Lavenia and Odette in her wake.

Surrounded by her friends, Julia began to stand a little straighter.

"What are you going to do about it?" one of the opposing group sneered and, with a flare, all the Gryffindor girls drew their wands and moved to form a protective ring around Julia, with Aurora having scrambled to the forefront.

"Horns or antlers, Julia?" she laughed, seemingly unaffected by her brief stint on the floor.

"You... you wouldn't."

Once more Aurora laughed, this time at the uncertainty in the tone of their opponents. "I'm going to get a detention for them," she waved her free hand dismissively in the direction of a screaming Ken and the Slytherin with the backwards knees and the newly broken nose. "What's another week or two?" She flashed them a wicked grin and those who were able took a step back. "An-"

"Break it up!" McGonagall's bark was more than enough to make Aurora lower her wand. Taking in the sight of the two hexed students, McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "Miss Pixley, thirty points from Gryffindor and two nights' dete-"

"Please don't Professor!" Julia protested, then realised what she was doing as everyone turned to look at her and promptly quietened down. _'C'mon you wuss!' _she silently yelled. _'You can't let Aurora get in trouble because of you!'_

"Aw, c'mon Professor, can't you knock it down to twenty for decent spell work?"

"Another ten points for insolence Miss Pixley." They all caught Professor McGonagall's small smile as she swept away with the two hexed students, ushering them in the direction of the hospital wing.

The second she was out of sight, Aurora looked back to the Slytherins, the almost evil grin back in place. "Anteoculatia!"

* * *

_Odette smiled widely at Harry. "We were all there for one another, whenever we needed it most." He smiled back. "And no one was willing to face the wrath of the boys." She received a quizzical look. "They might have pranked us themselves on more than one occasion, but they wouldn't let any harm come to us, said it was a matter of principle." Harry's smiled widened into a grin. _

_He had expected nothing less of the Marauders._

* * *

Lavenia rushed into the Gryffindor Common Room, tears streaming down her face and the remnants of a powerful furnunculus curse dotted about her skin. Lily was the first over. "What happened?" she whispered, moving Lavenia into a quiet corner in an attempt to be more discreet about the entire situation.

"That-that fifth year b-boy in Hufflepuff-"

"Mike? What about him?" Aurora chimed in as she and Odette joined in the group, shielding Lavenia from the scrutiny of the rest of the common room.

"He-h-he... I thought he-"

"You thought he was going to introduce you to his friends," Odette clarified, in her usual quiet tone, casting Lavenia an empathetic glance when she nodded.

"B-but... he-he said that he... he wouldn't ever go out with a third year." The other three all exchanged a glance, they had expected as much.

Realising that it was her turn to be the harsh realist, Aurora started, "Um... Venia... I think-"

"He s-said he'd just a-asked me out for a joke! A-and then everyone in the Great H-hall... they-they were all l-laughing at me!" Lavenia finished with a loud wail and, before anymore heads turned, Odette and Lily had swept her up the stairs, leaving Aurora to damage control.

"Hey, Pixley," James summoned her and, despite her mild indignation at being waved over, she obliged, wandering over to join the Marauders at their usual spot by the fire. "What happened?" Aurora looked round the face of each of the boys, rolling her eyes when Sirius blatantly refused to meet her gaze.

Apparently he still hadn't gotten over what had been said on the train that first year.

"I don't know if I should tell you."

"Just tell us who did it," Remus urged and, after thinking about it for a moment, Aurora nodded.

"You know Mike Barb?"

"The fifth year?"

"Hufflepuff, yeah... it was him, he... well her embarrassed Lavenia in front of everyone in the Great Hall just now... why? What are you plotting?"

She wasn't entirely sure that the grins on the boys' faces were a good thing.

* * *

"You need to eat," Lily coaxed Lavenia into the Great Hall the next morning, rushing her down the tables to the quiet spot that Aurora, Odette and Julia had saved for them near the front. "We'll have dinner and then go back to the common room, okay?"

Lavenia glanced over her shoulder. "They're all looking at me!" she whined.

"Barb and his mates? Bunch of pricks," Sirius joined the conversation, strategically seating himself beside Odette so that he wouldn't be made to sit with Aurora. Soon enough the other Marauders had joined them.

"What are you doing?" Lily asked, although her disdain was aimed more towards James than any of the others.

"We heard about what happened." James shrugged, trying to look as nonchalant as possible around Lily and failing miserably. "And we wanted to make sure Lavenia was here to watch."

Aurora's curiosity was piqued. "Watch what?" She studied each of the boys' faces, even Sirius' momentarily, for some sort of clue, but none of them gave anything away. "Tell me."

"Patience is a virtue," Remus scolded, anyone who doubted the more studious boy's placed among the Marauders needed only to see his grin at that moment to know otherwise.

They didn't need to wait long anyway.

A sudden shriek caught everyone's attention and the students all turned to watch as Mike Barb very slowly turned a rather fetching shade of fuchsia, his further reddened face had all the Gryffindors in stitches as he marched towards the Marauders, his wand at the ready. "I know you did this!" he yelled, glaring at each of the Marauders in turn. "Admit it!"

"Mr Barb!" Professor Sprout hurried down the steps. "Put your wand down immediately!"

"But Professor! Look what they did to me!"

"Now, now, it's merely a dye." The mirth in Professor Sprout's voice did nothing to better Mike's mood. "I'm sure Madame Pomfrey will be able to get you back to normal."

"Not likely," Sirius muttered to the others; he even smiled slightly when he heard Aurora snicker.

* * *

_Harry laughed loudly, ignoring the dirty looks which were thrown his way by the pub's other patrons. "How long did he stay that way?"_

"_About a month, in the end, Dumbledore had to look him over and see how they'd done it."_

"_Did they get in trouble?"_

"_Nah, he gave them ten points for a 'top quality sticking charm'."_

_Harry snorted and for a short while they descended into chatter, flicking through the pages and reading through Aurora's notes before Harry came to his next bookmarked page. Where there was just a picture of Lily, Severus and Aurora sat in the library, Lily and Severus studying dutifully while Aurora tried to balance a pot of ink on her nose. "What about Prof- Severus Snape? What was he like then?"_

"_Did Sirius not tell you about him?"_

"_Slimy git, never washed his hair-"_

"_Sounds about right from Sirius, he and Aurora had some fantastic spats about him saying stuff like that."_

"_They didn't get along?"_

"_Not at first, Aurora said on that first train ride that he was just like the rest of his family." Harry winced. "Yeah, so he wasn't too fond of her, and Aurora had been raised to pretty much hate Sirius and his family-"_

"_Really?"_

_Odette nodded. "Yup, the Pixley family and the Black family, they just... it wasn't good..."_

"_But Sirius was nothing like his family," Harry commented with a frown._

"_Yeah, we knew that but after that thing on the train and some of the stuff that your Dad and Sirius di- don't look at me like that Harry, they could be absolute swines when they wanted to be..."_

"_Did they ever stop fighting?"_

"_You've not seen very far in the book yet have you?"_

"_Just up to third year, why?"_

"_Then you don't need to worry, they became friends." _

_Unable to help himself when he saw the secretive smile twist Odette's lips, Harry blurted out, "Why the smile?"_

_Odette chuckled, "You'll find out soon enough." _


	5. Chapter 5

**Ah! I'm so sorry! It's been so long since my last update! This chapter's been rewritten more time than I can count... but anyway! On with the chapter!**

**Admiral von Cha-Cha, angel2u and map of the monarchs – thanks for your reviews on the last chapter!**

The Scrapbook  
Chapter 5

"Did you see the look on his face?" James said in-between hysterics as he marched into the dorm, closely followed by the other Marauders.

"Priceless," Sirius commented, with his patented bark of a laugh. They had just escaped scot-free from another prank; Ken Seutter and his friends would think twice before trying to bully any of the Gryffindor girls again.

"Made Julia happy too," commented Remus, only to be bombarded with wolf-whistles and crude suggestions from the others, primarily James and Sirius.

It took a while, but they calmed down somewhat, each taking their place at the foot of their own bed. "You know," James began sagely, "all things considered, not a bad looking lot really those Gryffindor girls... we got lucky."

Without even looking up from his charms book, Remus attempted to reason with the others, "We're only fourteen-"

"Fifteen," Sirius interrupted, gesturing to the pile of birthday presents beside his bed that he had accumulated the week before.

"Fourteen and fifteen," Remus amended, "surely it's still a bit early to be discussing the girls this way." It was obvious from Remus' tone that he didn't believe a single word of what he had just said.

"Only if you can't get 'em mate," Sirius laughed, referring to his recent success in asking Liza Provence – a Hufflepuff in their year – to spend the day with him during the next Hogsmeade visit.

"Can't believe you're ditching us," sulked James, only to perk up a moment later. "Do you think Evans would go with me?"

The Marauders all exchanged glances, their beloved leader had asked Lily Evans out at least twice a day for the past month and a half, since the beginning of the school year, only to be spectacularly shot down each and every time. "You could try it," Remus replied vaguely.

"Yeah, it'll be funny if nothing else," Sirius added, expertly dodging the rolled up sock that was subsequently lobbed at his head.

"Whatever," James waved his hand dismissively at them all, "after we beat Slytherin on Saturday, she won't be able to resist. What girl wouldn't want to date the captain of an undefeated team?"

The other Marauders all groaned, it didn't matter what they were talking about, James always managed to bring the conversation back to Quidditch and it had only gotten worse since he had been made Gryffindor captain that September.

"Looks like it might just be me and you Pete," said Remus kindly. Apparently, he was the only one who had noticed that Peter was unusually quiet that evening. Hearing no response, Remus turned to the smaller boy, only to find him deep in thought. "Peter?"

"Do you think Aurora would say yes if I asked her to come to Hogsmeade with us?" Peter asked quietly, so that _only _Remus could hear.

Remus smiled. "I'm sure she would, if she's not already made plans with someone else."

"And you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not, I like Aurora."

"You _like _Aurora!" James suddenly yelled, pointing an accusatory finger at Remus, completely ignoring the fact that Peter was the one fast-turning red.

Sirius shook his head incredulously, his expression one of practised dislike. "Why would anyone like _her_?"

"I don't _like _her," Remus told them both clearly, "but I see no reason why someone wouldn't."

"You need to let go of that train thing mate," James told Sirius, switching to a seriousness that one would normally only see from him when he was on the Quidditch pitch. "It was four years ago, give her a break."

"It's not like I'm hexing her every two seconds!" He folded his arms defensively over his chest. "We don't even _talk_ to one another... I just don't see why anyone would like her."

"She's nice," Remus said, "and she's fun, _you'd _like her if you gave her the chance."

"No," Peter squeaked and Sirius and Remus were suddenly looking at him, James was far too busy rummaging around in his trunk for something.

"What?" Sirius frowned, his arms still folded and his grey eyes narrowed as he openly scrutinised the smaller boy.

"Well... um..." Panicking, Peter began to fumble his way through an explanation, what could he say? He just... didn't want Sirius to like Aurora. If Sirius decided to charm Aurora then Peter would never have a chance with her, and Sirius had more than enough girls falling at his feet already. "Y-you see-"

"She's cute," James interrupted, unknowingly coming to Peter's rescue even as he continued searching through his trunk, "not a patch on my Lily but-"

"Too small." Sirius took a moment to yawn and stretch. "Not even just short, she looks like she'd snap in half if you shagged her hard enough."

"Sirius," admonished Remus, with a small snort of distaste.

Peter meanwhile, looked absolutely livid at the comment. "You can't say that!" he suddenly announced.

"Why not?" Sirius responded, an obvious edge to his tone. "It's true."

Even James was frowning by this point. "That's a bit far mate..." Seeing the awkward silence settling between them, James quickly added, "She's surprisingly sturdy though, remember that time she fell off her broom during flying lessons?" The boys all laughed, and as quickly as that all issues had suddenly been forgotten. "Hey." With a packet of Bertie Botts' in hand, James plonked himself down on Sirius' bed. "What do you think of... Remus and Lavenia?"

"She'd eat him alive!" Sirius laughed. "Oh! Wait! I got it, _perfect_ couple, Pete and _Julia_!" Even Remus laughed at the thought of the comparatively small Peter beside Julia Keefen, who was taller than both James and Sirius, and only just shorter than himself.

Sighing, Peter sat on the edge of his own bed, his back facing his friends as he mulled things over. He hated to think about it, even consider it, especially after some of the comments he'd just made, but if Peter was going to get Aurora to go to Hogsmeade with him then he would need Sirius' help.

* * *

_Harry took a swig of butterbeer and flicked through the book, he was onto their fourth year now, when it seemed that Aurora had really gotten into her scrapbooking. _

_He ran a finger along the edge of the picture of Aurora and his mother in the muggle photo booth at King's Cross Station – which had apparently become an annual ritual – and then switched to look at the opposing page, on which Aurora had stuck a copy of her timetable, with her own annotations added in. _

"_Sorry I'm late." Hearing the familiar voice, Harry looked up, just in time to see Odette slide into her usual seat. It was a common occurrence now, the two of them met up on a monthly basis, most of the time Harry would ask Odette questions, other times he would simply sit and listen as she stared off into the distance, a nostalgic smile on her face as she spoke about the Hogwarts days. _

_Today though, Harry had a particularly burning question and, without hesitation, he flipped past the first few pages of Aurora's fourth year, stopping on one of the pages with 'October' scrawled across the top. _

_In the picture were the fourth year Gryffindors, all of them smiling and happy. All of them, except for Sirius and Aurora. The two of them had been forced together in the middle of the motley crew and, although they were both smiling convincingly, Harry caught the quick movement of their eyes as they glanced at one another and then tried their hardest to move away. _

"_Why did she and Sirius hate each other? I know you said that they became friends, but why did it take so long in the first place."_

_Although Odette had been expecting such a question, she had not quite expected Harry to be so blunt about it. "You have to understand Harry," she began, "they never _actually _hated one another... not really... Aurora let her family's prejudices dictate what she thought about Sirius. She heard the name 'Black' and immediately wrote him off as a bad person and in her defence; Sirius didn't do much to convince her otherwise. After that thing on the train, he just didn't want to associate with her..."_

"_But they couldn't just avoid one another, could they?"_

"_They managed it, somehow. They shared friends, shared a common room, shared classes, but they managed to avoid one another like the plague. Whenever they did actually speak to one another, it was only to argue... There was this one fight they had in fourth year... it was bad... it was the first time I'd ever seen Aurora cry..." Odette trailed off, a sad look dulling her blue eyes. _

_Harry frowned. "She wasn't a crier then?"_

"_No... I think there was something, something about the way those high society purebloods had been raised that made them repress every single negative emotion they ever felt, Sirius was the same way and so was Emery and it just meant that... instead of having a couple of small arguments, they let things build up and build up until they just couldn't hold back anymore..."_

* * *

"Um... Sirius?" Peter began cautiously. He had quite cleverly chosen to ambush Sirius after Defence Against the Dark Arts, knowing that following a double of his favourite lesson, Sirius would be in a much more compliant mood.

"What?"

"Oh, well... I... uh... I was wondering if you'd... if-you'd-help-me-ask-Aurora-out..."

Sirius blinked rapidly, trying to unravel Peter's words. "Help you what?"

Hanging his head and readying himself for the backlash, Peter muttered, "Ask Aurora out."

"Pete, you can do better than her." Sirius began to march ahead, his stride long enough that Peter had to jog to keep up.

"Please Sirius-"

"If you're that set on... _her_... then ask James or Remus to help you out."

"But they've never asked a girl out, well, James has asked Lily out, but she's never said yes so that doesn't count," Peter babbled.

Sirius stopped for a moment. Thinking about it, Peter was _right_. Remus had been asked out a few times by some of the braver girls in the year below – and yet had never been the one to do the asking – and James had only ever asked Lily out. Sirius chuckled; the entire school was well aware how well that always went.

After another moment of thought, Sirius sighed, "Alright," he mumbled begrudgingly before looking around. "Where is she?"

"The library-"

"No way." Once more, Sirius began to walk away.

After a moment of shock, Peter began rushing after him. "But you just said you'd help!"

"I can't be seen _voluntarily_ going into the library! I have an image to..." he trailed off as he caught sight of someone scuttling into the library, potions' books and parchment clutched to his chest. Looking back to Peter, Sirius forced his features into a look of disgruntlement, "Fine, because I'm such a good friend," he allowed a moment for Peter to enthusiastically agree, "I'll help you out, just this once."

"Oh, thanks Sirius-"

"But you owe me Peter." After another bout of exuberant nodding, Peter trotted off to the library and, after making sure that his wand was still in his robes' pocket, Sirius followed.

He hadn't realised that Snivellus would be there.

* * *

"Tell your boyfriend to bugger off," Severus told Aurora, looking up only briefly from his potions' essay and twitching the tip of his quill in the direction of Peter, who was hiding unsuccessfully behind a set of nearby shelves and had been for the past half-hour.

"Pete? He's just a friend Severus, no need to be such a grump."

"A friend? Do all of your friends follow you around like a lost puppy?" he sneered, this time not even bothering to look up.

"Does that make you Lily's boyfriend then Severus?"

He glared at her and opened his mouth to retort when Lily suddenly looked up from her own essay. "Will you two stop it?" We're supposed to be doing homework-"

"But it's _lunch_," Aurora whined, "no one else is doing any homework! I didn't even want to come, _you_ dragged me here."

Despite herself, Lily smiled, she had grown a bit over the summer and those valuable couple of inches only made it easier to physically drag Aurora anywhere that she didn't want to go. "You should be grateful, otherwise you wouldn't be doing any of this work until the day it was due, _again_."

Aurora merely grinned at the scolding. "I find I work best under pressure." Her smile didn't even falter under Lily's fierce glare. "I can't help it! I get distracted easily!"

"Just get some work done." When Aurora began to rummage half-heartedly around in her bad, Lily turned to smile triumphantly at Severus, who merely rolled his eyes.

* * *

She had begun her charms essay with nothing but the best of intentions but, after a measly twenty minutes, Aurora had found herself doodling absentmindedly along the edges of the parchment.

Now, having filled the margins completely with doodles, Aurora finally thought that she might as well settle down to some work. Then, out of nowhere, the pot of ink seemed to catch her eye and, as she stared at it, an idea began to form...

If she could pull this off, then it'd be a great addition to her scrapbook.

Both Severus and Lily jumped as the camera flashed. Glancing up at Aurora, they found her with her head titled right back, the ink pot balanced precariously on the tip of her nose and her camera in hand.

"Do you ever take anything seriously?" drawled Severus, whilst Aurora continued to balance the pot of ink on her nose.

"Nope, not- AH!" Aurora leapt up when a ball of parchment suddenly pelted her in the eye. Her sudden movement unbalanced the ink pot and it coated her face and shirt with ink as it tumbled to the floor. Soon afterwards, Sirius – who they hadn't ever known was even _in_ the library – emerged from behind some shelves behind them, almost doubled over with laughter.

"Well I was aiming for Snivellus there, but I'm not gonna complain about this." He motioned towards Aurora who was still spluttering on a mouthful of ink, the majority of her shirt was stained black and her hair had quickly become matted with the stuff.

For a while, Aurora didn't look like she was going to react at all, then she hissed in pain and began rubbing her eye furiously.

Itching powder, he'd put itching powder in the parchment.

"Black!" she screamed before coughing, the ink sticking to the back of her throat and her eye beginning to itch uncontrollably. He continued to laugh and she yelled louder, ignoring her wand completely, she chose to swing for him instead.

Sirius only just managed to duck out of the way. "Whoa, calm down Pixley, it's just a bit of ink," he looked up at her, "and a slightly red eye."

Another scream and she finally managed to clout him with Lily's charms book, setting his ears ringing. "You stupid, arrogant berk!"

"It was an accident!"

Aurora didn't seem to have heard that part as she swung at him again. This time, she missed him entirely and the sheer force of the movement sent her stumbling forwards. By this point, the two of them had accumulated quite the crowd, including Madam Pince, who was screaming at them to get out of her library and Peter, who was desperately trying to drag Sirius away.

Both of their efforts were to no avail.

"Typical Black!" she yelled, rubbing her eye and still trying to land another punch. "You all think you can just do whatever you like!"

"Me? What about you? You're always acting so high and mighty! Oh! Look at me everyone!" he shouted back, in a bad imitation of her voice. "Don't you all just _adore _my family? Even though we're purebloods, we still _love _muggles. We're _everyone's _bestest friend and we want everything to be rainbows and pixie-dust!" He switched back to his normal voice. "You're a bunch of fucking _hypocrites_! If blood's not important to any of you, then how come you still _arrange _your marriages? Huh?"

Lily's head snapped to Sirius, intently studying his profile. He was telling the truth... but Aurora had said on that very first day, had always told them all that her family didn't deal in arranged marriages, that the Pixley's were purebloods by chance. Frowning, she looked back to Aurora.

"You don't know anything about my family Black," she hissed at him, her small frame shaking with rage.

"You've _never _known anything about me or my family!" he shouted back at her, his hands curled into fists at his sides. He had never hit a girl in his life, but Aurora was coming pretty damn close to being the first. "You still try and bring them up at every possible opportunity though, don't you?"

For a moment, and only a moment, Sirius could have sworn that Aurora looked as though she was about to cry. Lily placed a hand on her friend's shoulder but Aurora shrugged her off with relative ease, choosing instead to turn on her heel. _'If you really have to cry then only do it behind closed doors. No one can see you cry, especially not Black,'_ she told herself that over and over again in her mind until the library door had finally swung shut behind her.

Then she ran.

* * *

Emery stood nonchalantly outside the Ancient Runes classroom. As always, he was early, trying to find some peace from the bumbling morons that insisted upon surrounding him every minute of every day.

In short, he really couldn't be bothered with his fellow Slytherins, the girls especially. Now that hormones had finally kicked in, Emery had become quite a popular target for female attention. Slytherin girls sought to make alliances with the influential Night family and girls from the other houses thought that they might be able to change him.

Ha! Good luck to them.

He really couldn't be bothered with anyone. Indeed, he was having one of those days when he just shut himself off from everyone, refusing to speak to or even acknowledge those around him. No one really knew quite why he had these days, just that they shouldn't bother him too much if they didn't want to end up stuck to the ceiling with troll bogies.

He would return to his usual charming self within twenty-four hours anyway.

Hearing the hurried clacking noise of kitten heels against the stone floor, Emery glanced sideways just in time to see Aurora running towards him, her hair – which he knew she spent a good hour or so charming into submission each morning – was dripping with ink and her eyes were red.

Initially, he planned on letting her just barge past him, then he saw that she was crying and, after quickly making sure that no one was around to see, he grabbed hold of her arms and forced her to halt.

"Let go Emery," she sniffled pitifully, fighting to pull back tears.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

"I'm fine," she told him, still inwardly struggling to ignore the need to screech and wail out all of her frustrations, but then she managed to do what prone to do in such situations, what she had always been taught _needed_ to be done when pride and reputation were at risk – she repressed the emotion entirely.

Emery sighed loudly in annoyance before stating simply, "You're not fine."

In response, she smiled up at him. It was a move so practised, so wholly perfected that – were it not an act that he himself had used most days of his life – he might have believed that there really was nothing wrong with her.

The art of repression was a useful one in the pureblood world and it was an art of which the Pixley family were masters. In the modern day, the purebloods all brought up their children with one simple mantra: crying was a weakness and weakness was inexcusable.

Emery had learned over the years that a smile and a laugh was always the preference in the Pixley household – as opposed to the haughty scowl favoured by most pureblood families – and in place of that, rage. Tears were a luxury that the Pixley family simply could not afford.

Scowling, Aurora stared up at Emery and felt tears prickling at the corners of her eyes again. "Black," she muttered.

"Black?" Emery blinked a few times and moved away from Aurora, leaning against the wall instead. "Ah... Sirius Black... what's he done now?"

"He was making fun of my family."

"Hardly something to cry about, you should have just hexed him."

Aurora winced, normally she would have, but normally what Black said didn't have such a sense of truth about it...

Feeling the intense stinging her eyes again, Aurora began to run again, seeking solace in one of the nearest bathrooms and leaving Emery leant against the wall, staring after her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Right, another one up, hope you guys like this one, it's amazing what can be done when you should be writing history essays...**

**And Feeagie, thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you like the story and thanks for pointing out the grammatical error in chapter 5, much love for you!**

**Oh, before I forget, Emery Night and Odette Ornithe are the property of Incandescent Aurora; she was kind enough to lend them to me :D **

The Scrapbook  
Chapter 6

From her vantage point just around the corner, Odette followed Emery's gaze as he watched Aurora disappear into one of the other corridors. At first glance, Emery's scowl had looked to be one of annoyance, disgruntlement at being disturbed but Odette knew him well enough to know that no one should ever take _anything_ Emery Night – or indeed, any of the high-status purebloods – did at face value. _'He cares for her.' _

As soon as the thought struck her, a pain shot through Odette's chest.

She wasn't a fool; she knew perfectly well the cause of her pain – she had a crush on Emery Night, the pureblood prince of Slytherin, and she had ever since that first day in potions when he had coolly commanded her to be his partner.

Odette had no idea why he had stuck with her throughout the rest of their first year; she was terrible at potions. Even Peter Pettigrew showed more promise in the subject than she.

Still, she would not question her good fortune; Odette had always enjoyed Emery's silent companionship.

The Gryffindors and Slytherins no longer had potions together, but Odette had found herself in several more of Emery's lessons when they began preparing for their OWLs and, although they barely spoke, she now found that she could read him better than most.

Still, a sigh escaped her. For all her hoping, the situation was quite hopeless, she was certain that Emery would never reciprocate her feelings.

Seeing that she had some time left before class, she turned away from the scene and began to wander through the corridors, noting how aptly the rain outside reflected her mood. It was like something straight out of one of her romance novels.

Another sigh. Emery would never look at _her_ in that way. She was sure of it.

The fact that she was pureblood may have worked in her favour, but she wasn't the right _kind_ of pureblood. Her family wasn't of the same standing as the Blacks or the Pixleys. _'Or the Nights,'_ she reminded herself bitterly. Those families all had fabulous wealth and seemingly endless lineage, while her own family was similar to the Potters in terms of status – they were well-off, but not wealthy.

It seemed that those kinds of purebloods lived in a different world entirely and it was a world that Odette knew she could never survive in.

She didn't know how to dance or charm people or shamelessly network as those children were expected to do. While she had watched silently from afar, Emery and Aurora had made connections with others like them, navigating the flighty social patterns of their age group with practised ease.

Nor did she believe, not even for a second, that she could ever handle an arranged marriage. Her natural romanticism practically forbade it. She would never envy that aspect of their lives, if nothing else she was glad that, if she did ever marry, it would be for love.

'_What if Emery and Aurora...' _Odette stopped herself before the thought developed any further. As painful as it was for Odette to think of Emery with other girls, it would be far worse to see him with one of her friends. Still, it was a possibility, especially as Emery had said to her when they first met that his parents had demanded he and Aurora get along.

Suddenly catching sight of her skewed reflection in one of the windows, Odette took a moment to study her appearance. She was too slim, she quickly decided, most of the other girls in her year had already begun to grow into their curves...

She continued to scrutinise herself. Her skin, while free of blemishes, was startlingly pale and the light freckling across the bridge of her nose made her look younger than she actually was. The tears started to prickle at the corners of Odette's eyes.

What was she in comparison to her friends?

That question had been in her mind for a while now and sometimes she would lay awake just thinking through things over and over.

She wasn't sought after, like Lavenia, who always seemed to have some poor, love-struck boy around to carry her bag and open doors for her.

She wasn't strikingly pretty, like Lily, with her wild red hair and glowing green eyes.

She wasn't confident, like Aurora, who could make friends wherever she went.

She wasn't smart, like Julia, who could give any of the Ravenclaws a run for their money.

Seeking comfort, her fingertips ran instinctively over the cameo necklace that she always wore. It seemed to react to her touch, emitting a pleasant warmth that brought a smile to Odette's lips.

"Odette? You okay?"

Turning quickly, Odette met Aurora's worried gaze and forced herself to smile. "I'm fine," she answered quietly, hoping Aurora wouldn't pick up on her anxieties. At first, Odette thought to ask Aurora the same thing, since she had been upset as well, but then she thought the better of it. "I heard you argued with Sirius?"

When Aurora replied, it was with a small grin. "Yeah, what else is new?" She waved her hand dismissively. Odette frowned. "What?"

"I've been meaning to ask you for a while now, what's that ring?" The shorter girl didn't need to look to know that Odette was talking about the gold band on her right ring finger with the blazing ruby set in the middle.

"Oh, this," sounded Aurora, looking bored, "family ring, most families like mine have them." She shrugged. "See? There's my family crest." She stopped and help up her hand for Odette to examine. Emblazoned on the ruby was an astoundingly detailed crest, with two curved swords crossing one another, tied together by a sash of pixie dust.

"It's beautiful..." Odette muttered without thinking, Aurora merely shrugged.

"I don't really get it but... family crest's a family crest."

Odette nodded uncertainly and offered a smile. Normally, Aurora was very easy to talk to, but she always seemed quite robotic whenever she mentioned her family, as though she had been made to rehearse everything she said about them. "And you say all families like yours wear them?"

"Yeah... the heir wears it on their left ring finger and others wear it on their right," she stated automatically. "Women wear theirs until they get married, then they wear their husband's family ring on their left and their own on a necklace of bracelet."

"So you're not...?"

Aurora tensed up suddenly. "I'm the eldest, but I'm not the heir-"

"You're not?"

"Felix is the only son; he's our heir unless he goes into Slytherin."

Odette frowned, she knew this was dangerous territory but she still couldn't seem to stop the words. "What happens if he goes into Slytherin?"

"I'll be made heir and Felix'll be homeschooled."

"That sounds harsh," commented Odette, regretting it immediately when Aurora flinched and pressed her lips into a thin line. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's necessary," Aurora snapped, with a sharpness to her tone that she normally reserved for Sirius Black and the Slytherins, "the future head of the Pixley family _cannot_ be a Slytherin!" The two of them stared at one another for a short while then Aurora's voice dropped low, "It would ruin us."

They made the rest of their journey in silence.

* * *

The flash of the camera caught all the Gryffindors off-guard and they looked instantly to Aurora, who merely smiled and shoved her camera back in her bag. "Gotta get some pictures for my scrapbook," she explained as she began shovelling eggs and beans onto her plate.

Sirius rolled his eyes but didn't protest loudly to James, as he might normally have done, he had been thinking over what James, Remus and Peter had said. It was exhausting actively avoiding someone that was in almost all of his classes.

The idea of being on neutral ground was beginning to appeal more and more each day, especially as she was growing closer to his friends.

'_Might be nice to have another blood traitor around,'_ he thought to himself grimly as his hand thoughtlessly moved to the back of his other hand – his mother had made him write the phrase a hundred time with a blood quill after finding pictures of muggle motorbikes permanently stuck to his bedroom walls and while the scars had faded, the memories certainly hadn't.

"Aurora, chew then swallow," Lily admonished her before going back to her own breakfast and picking at the eggs with her fork, "and I don't know why you're taking pictures of these lot, you're spending all day with them"

Aurora loudly swallowed her mouthful and grinned at Lily before poking brandishing her spoon and poking Lily in the side. "You're just jealous."

"Am not-"

"Are too-"

"If you want Lily-flower, you could always join us?" James asked, trying to look suave even though his hand had jumped to his hair and he had a bit of bacon stuck in his teeth.

"Why would I want to spend an entire day with an arrogant toe-rag like you Potter?" she shot back, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "Besides, I have plans with Severus today." Before James or any of the Marauders could say anything about Severus Snape, Lily had stormed off, offering Aurora a curt "Good luck," as she went.

"Won't need it," Aurora chimed back, smiling brightly until Lily had flounced out of the Great Hall. Then, she frowned. "You're not exactly helping your case Potter." She pointed to her own teeth then laughed with the others as James slowly turned red.

"Shove off Pixley," James mumbled back, studying his reflection in the back of a spoon and trying to pick the bits of bacon out of his teeth as they all stood up and started to walk out of the Great Hall.

"Is that dye ever coming out?" Aurora asked, distracted by Ken Seutter – who was still a very fetching shade of fuchsia – glowering at them from his own table. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be going to Hogsmeade that weekend, he couldn't stand to have any more people laughing at him.

"Eventually," Remus responded with a secretive smile.

"I got it into his toothpaste!" Peter squeaked proudly, beaming when Aurora gave him a kind smile. He had, in fact, been grinning stupidly for three days straight, ever since Aurora had agreed to go to Hogsmeade with him. It didn't even matter that, since Remus and James were going with them, it technically wasn't a date. He was happy nonetheless.

"Brilliant, absolutely bloody brilliant," she mumbled in slight awe. "Well, I owe you-"

"Nonsense!" James proclaimed, popping up beside her and throwing an arm around Aurora's shoulders. "Can't have anyone hurting our Gryffindor girls now can we?"

"_Your_ Gryffindor girls?" Aurora's grin took the impact away from the roll of her eyes. "You're lucky you're in my good books Potter, otherwise you'd have to face my wrath."

"What wrath?"

"My wrath!"

"Pixley," James sighed melodramatically, shaking his head, "you have no wrath."

Pouting, Aurora turned away from James with her arms crossed over her chest. "I could have wrath..."

"Hey Sirius, here's your girlfriend," James wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and nudged his friend good-humouredly in the ribs.

Liza Provence wandered over to the group, smiling shyly under the scrutiny of Aurora and Sirius' other friends. "Hi Sirius," she greeted him with a small wave. Nervously, she tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, her brown eyes flitting from Sirius, to James, to Remus, to Peter and then finally settling on Aurora. Her smile brightened. "Hi Aurora."

"Morning Liza," she greeted her with a cheery smile and a friendly hug.

"Aren't you going to Hogsmeade with Lily?"

"Nah, I got ditched for a Slytherin, so I'm stuck with this lot instead."

"Right, well, have fun."

"You too," Aurora finished politely, not envying Sirius one bit as Liza led him towards her dorm-mates, particularly with Greta Catchlove eyeing him up in that predatory way. She turned back to face James, an amused smile making her eyes dance. "I'll give him an hour before he gets bored."

James grinned back at her, the mischievous gleam in his eyes made Remus and Peter both groan. "I'm sure we could think of some way to make things more... _interesting_... for him."


End file.
